At a time when FIFA and PES are still happily pulling the plug during each football start - although in terms of sales, the clasico unfortunately runs quite short - a game manages with authority to bring everyone to agreement and to bring them into line these two behemoths of international sports, NBA 2K. It's not necessarily us who say it (a little all the same) but it is clear that in terms of cinematics, production, technique and virtualization of its sport, the hit developed for many years with mastery by Visual Concepts has knew how to achieve unanimity like no other, even arousing a little jealousy among the competition… when he did not quite simply force his direct opponents (NBA Live) to throw in the towel on several occasions. So it's not new, nor a scoop, NBA 2K is a reference and the question that now arises season after season is always the same: do you have to go back to the wallet box to win the last part of the saga, when we know the difficulties for a dominant title to renew itself. The answer for basketball lovers is obvious, especially given the success of the previous edition, the best-selling in the history of the license. This season, it should also be for the neophyte, as Visual Concepts has worked in depth to offer an immersive gaming experience (we will come back to this), realistic (the creed of the series) and readable for all.
Everything that happens on the floor is now clearly identified, so as to clarify the game and the action for everyone.
It is on this last point that we will start, with a small batch of new features that are well thought out and sufficiently non-intrusive to annoy the die-hard basketball fan. Thus, on the screen, everything that happens on the floor is now clearly identified, so as to clarify the game and the action for everyone. One thinks in particular of the system of interceptions, based on the rhythm and the change of hands, with a circle under the feet of the player, changing shape (round or dotted) to indicate the opportune moment to try to steal the ball. The shoot is also part of this system, with a percentage rate displayed, depending on the zone in which the player (yours or that of your opponent) is. A good idea for the defense, and to know if you did well to abandon such a player behind the three-point line. In addition, a small green animation will be triggered (still under the shoes) in case of perfect timing of your shoot. Clearly, no more angry comments on this or that shot, considered abusive by some, while the timing and positioning of the player are ideal. It will be necessary to know its systems and the opposing forces by heart, so as not to quickly be overwhelmed on the scoreboard. And na!
These additions are not too much for a game that is still as demanding in terms of efficiency. In NBA 2K, the margin of error is quite small and this is still true on this 2020 opus, with a particularly surgical AI when punishing a poorly appreciated counter or a badly felt interception. Obviously, if the gaming experience, whether online with the many dedicated modes and now classic or offline, is rich, it only really makes sense in the My Career mode – more in any case than in My GM , which even saw its content being punctured, that is to say – which has changed gears this season. We won't go much further by saying that this is most certainly the best Career mode in the history of NBA 2K, and the presence behind the controls of Lebron James is certainly no stranger to it.
LeBron James did not hesitate to draw on his own experience to make the My Career mode particularly authentic.
The Los Angeles Lakers superstar has thrown his weight behind it, via his audiovisual production company SpringHill Entertainment (he is a co-founder and acted on the project as executive producer) and hasn't been shy about tapping into his own experience to make everything particularly authentic. Agents, questioning, strong decisions, nothing is spared the avatar that we lead, nicknamed "Che" for his propensity to kick in the stretchers in case of injustice. The rise of this talented young player is as much a pretext to scroll through a myriad of stars, such as Idriss Elba (The WIRRRRREE) or Rosario Dawson, but also stars of the NBA of course, such as Kemba Walker, Anthony Davis and of course, the King James himself. But this ascent is also an opportunity to live an NBA adventure down to the smallest detail, with the return to 2K of the Draft Combine – the qualifying exercises supposed to determine your ranking in the Draft – or even the Summer League, to prove yourself. , especially. If the experience is really pleasant, we can only deplore cutscenes that are sometimes (too) long – the main downside of this type of mode) and too long loading times, an observation unfortunately extendable to the whole game.
But the soundtrack, always as current and always as hip-hop, put at the service of a quality realization, partly compensate for this pill. It must be recognized, graphically, NBA 2K20 is in the faithful line of its predecessors and we are still in awe, even after several hours, several matches and several tested modes, in front of the drops of sweat beading on the shoulders of a player, the level of detail of these facial expressions or the extremely advanced modeling of each other. Obviously, the rooms are not left out and the show as seen late at night on TV is perfectly transcribed here. In the end, we don't ask for more to accompany us this winter, with an update of the numbers and forms of online players still as followed and sharp, not to mention the arrival on this opus of women and all the franchises of the WNBA, the women's division.
Already largely singled out last year, VCs are again at the center of attention, because they are much too quickly essential.
What can we finally blame this NBA 2K20? Two or three small things, which are not so small when you analyze them well. We will start with the most obvious and the most open to criticism, namely the VC, the famous virtual currency to accumulate in the game to be able to unlock certain features. Already widely singled out last year, this motto is again at the center of attention, because it proves to be indispensable much too quickly to allow its avatar to partially step-up. Admittedly, Career mode now allows you to adjust your avatar as you want, depending on the desired position and the characteristics you want to highlight. Admittedly, we can also now see what this famous virtual "you" will have as a future in future years, once its full potential has been reached. But, whether it's to unlock insignia (to refine one or another of its particularities) or skill points, you'll either have to be patient or go to the cash register... and given the overall level of some players encountered in the Neighborhood , needless to tell you which of the two options is the most preferred. In short, the fight and the debate remain unchanged, even if the VC obtained are a little more important than in the previous parts.
The other black aspect concerns the servers. Even if things seem to have normalized since then, the first weeks around NBA 2K20 were painful, with matches suffering from lags but and above all major stability concerns once the game started, with untimely disconnections and finished matches. before I could even start. Finally, if the MyTeam mode, the counterpart of FUT in NBA 2K is still as attractive, with its regular events and the arrival of 3 vs 3 (Triple Threat), the same could be said of the Quartier, the hub centralizing all the NBA 2K20 players. The idea is still just as good – it's not even the point, by the way – we just regret always finding the same district, with shops still so far apart. But given the frequency of players in this mode, again, success is always there. It is overall, moreover, the definitive opinion around this title, imperfect as you have understood, but sufficiently solid on the floor to justify its presence in your library. Especially if you are a hardcore basketball and US basketball fan.
